You have $15 to build your ALL-TIME Croatian five-a-side squad…
Choose ONE player from each row:
$5: Luka Modrić, Davor Šuker, Zvonimir Boban
$4: Ivan Perišić, Mario Mandžukić, Ivan Rakitić, Robert Prosinečki
$3: Niko Kovač, Alen Bokšić, Eduardo da Silva, Marcelo Brozović
$2: Ivica Olić, Niko Kranjčar, Mladen Petrić, Aljoša Asanović
$1: Dario Srna, Robert Jarni, Dario Šimić, Robert Kovač
My squad: Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić, Alen Bokšić, Ivica Olić, Robert Jarni.
Jarni on lockdown mode in the back (and still great on the ball), Modrić and Rakitić magically controlling the middle of the pitch, and a creative Olić-Bokšić duo up top, banging goals through the net!
Robert Jarni = $1?
Allen Boksic = $3?
Dario Srna = $1?
Prosinečki $5
Šuker $5
I’ll give you Modrić to make it fair.
No goalies, no hands!!
Šuker – Boksic
Prosinečki
Jarni – Srna
Wow.
That five is iLLmatic !!
Šuker and Boksic are the greatest strike partner in the history of HNS.
Prosinečki = Genius
Jarni – Srna = greatest LB and RB.
Those five right now should of played in the Futsal Euro!!
LANUT I’m waiting on your picks.
Alen and Dino halilovic obviously but the remaining 3 are what truly has me curious ?
5 gods of halilovics against the world!
No Sammir? Fire the editor immediately.
@Slavonac
First of all, I applaud you for never shying away from an opportunity to voice your opinion, and your threads are quite the treat to read…
I also notice that you’re always right and everybody else is wrong, correct?
Nah. Across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and this website, I would say about 80-90% of commenters chose Modrić as their first choice. I know you love trying to show the chief editor that you know more than he does, but logically, Modrić is no worse than Boban in any part of his game
Whether we are talking futsal or a large 5v5 game, Modrić will always be the commander of the field. He can play as a point man, use his small-space dribbling ability to attack, string some beautiful passes together, and even more importantly, drop back to defend. Just the other day, Real Madrid recognized Modrić as one who plays as a Brazilian. Brazilians are the kings of futsal
I also don’t understand how, by your logic, Brozović and Srna crack your squad over Niko Kovač, Jarni, or Eduardo? In your eyes, this is about building the ultimate Croatian futsal team, correct? Jarni literally played futsal. Srna is nowhere near a futsal-type player. And Brozo? Love the guy, but he’s a midfield orchestrator – not a small ball, 5-star skiller
And to top it all off, NOWHERE does it say that this is about futsal, mali nogomet, small goal footy, or anything along the lines. It’s a squad of five. Swallow your ego my guy. We all know you write in the hopes that you can prove Kvartuc wrong. I really hope I’m wrong though, because you’re embarrassing yourself, starac
U14…any time you write something to me or about me, it’s negative. You’re like the disgruntled kid that sits and stews in the corner. I know you’re Ante’s little buddy or relative and you feel the need to “get his back”!
I read the first line and it said five a side…most people would read it the same way I did! Based on 5 a side, my lineup makes 100% sense and that’s what I based the selection on. Dudu is an incredible player but I thought I’d need at least one very strong defensive player that is also skilled (Broz)
Look, I don’t particularly like your attitude so I’ll nicely tell you to go pound sand!
In the future, I will not respond to your posts, Ante should give you the kais for your shit attitude!
Kvartuc, this little shit has made me decide to take a few weeks off! I’ll be back some time in March…in the meantime…have fun!
@Slavonac
You are right, I did come out too hot on that last comment. I’d like to apologize for that, and for any other times that I’ve upset you. I should have stuck to my facts rather than bursting out, and I regret what I said
You don’t need to forgive me. But hey, next time fire back, we’d put on a good little debate
All love!
If it’s 5 a side on a big field you got to take your hardworking guys who can run for days
Mandzo/Olic/modric/Srna/broz kind of guys
Has to be small field then for sure how do you not take the best technical guys
Like others have said the defensive wing backs who can run
Two of the The fattest most technical midfielders and pure goal scorer who can dribble(Dudu)
Jarni srna zuti/kranjcar(both in their most unhealthy form) and Dudu
I didn’t even look at the money, but probably have enough left over for smokes and McDonald’s!
Modric, Prosinecki, Eduardo Da Silva, Robert Kovac, Asanovic
For small goals, outdoor?
Zuti for sure – need the tight space and technical ability….and he can suck down a pack of cigs at half time and still sort of run with the boys since its a small field.
Dudu all day – would absolutely run circles around defenders, ball control, technical ability, clean finishing ability.
Modric – you just need to take him. Ability to spin out of tight spaces and combine would be key. Not as much space to make things tick, but he will get you out of a jam and a great outlet for defenders in trouble to transition forward.
Jarni – needs a stallwart to put in defensive work, can sneak himself into the attack as well. Mali goals you always need a solid underrated defender who comes up big for you. Jarni is that guy.
Give me Srna as well. Good work rate. Can get up and back. Jarni a little old now so Srna would have the lungs to cover him. Plus Zuti would probably start walking around the pitch after 5 minutes so Srna can add to the attack.
Still got $1 left bitch, so super sub give me R. Kovac as the utility man.
Then i sit back and collect the $1000 prize money from the tourney and buy all your teams and win the 11v11 in the fall.
Samo Luka- every position, every dollar- he is our greatest player and will likely not be de-throned as Croatian soccer best player of all time- special shout out to team 98- I will never forget the “who the hell are these Croatian guys”? The beat down on Germany may be our best game ever.
SO…is this or is this not 5 a side?
“You have $15 to build your ALL-TIME Croatian five-a-side squad…”
Does 5 a side mean small goals? It makes a world of difference on player selection. Guys like Mandzukic, Olic, Boksic, Petric, Robert Kovac…would never get chosen on any small goals, 5 a side team!
This must be 5 aside with small goals. Strong defence defeats strong offence. Kovac brothers in the back, sniper Suker at top, and best dribbler Prosinecki with Kranjcar in the midfield.
Yea it’s hard to think of it as five-a-side with small goals, because we never saw these guys play futsal before.
All our fat players with good technical ability (like Zuti and Kranjcar) would definitely be our best players lol.
Modric would probably not even be a $3 player ha ha.
Hate letting a striker like Šuker miss out but you gotta take Modric in this case, no question.
I got:
Modric
Prosinecki
Dudu or Boksic
Olic
Jarni
I like Maminjo’s idea of taking cheaper players to fit in Modric and Suker so if I were to do that my team would look like this:
Suker-Boksic
Jarni-Modric-Srna
Jarni and Srna playing like left and right wingbacks to help support Modric in the midfield. And we have a perfect striker duo of Šuker and Boksic.
Yea, I like that lineup too.
But I think that Brozovic is a better overall player than Boksic.
A lot of what we have from the Suker/Boksic partnership is moreso “what could have been”…so we inflate it to legendary status.
Bokic is a cool player. Big power forward, who has such good technical ability.
But I would still take a more complete player in Brozovic, who is just as elite as Boksic.
But either lineup is interesting. If we had subs, I would definitely toggle between these two lineups.
Modric and Suker are our #1 and #2 best All-Time players, with Modric being the perfect midfielder and Suker being the perfect striker.
When you have an elite #9 and #10, then it can really carry your squad (we see this all the time at the International level)…and on a five-a-side team, the impact is even greater.
If there’s even a chance you can get them both on your team, you gotta do it.
I would just go with Modric and Suker (for $10) and fill out the remaining three spots with the best bargain buys.
My Team:
………….Suker
….Modric….Brozovic
Jarni………………….Srna
Brozovic is the best value player on the list at $3.
Dudu is too, but that’s assuming we’re talking about prime Dudu only, and not post-2007 Dudu (but Suker is still better up top).
I would love to include Perisic in there, but money is limited and I cannot possibly turn down a Modric/Brozovic partnership.
The defence they both bring allows me to pick two offensive-oriented wingbacks in Jarni and Srna.
Elite All-Time striker on top (in Suker) and our two most complete midfielders of All-Time (Brozovic/Modric) providing elite offense and defense. Great wing support from Jarni and Srna for such a cheap price, with Modric and Broz covering defense when those two push forward.
Kvartuc, your first line says this is for 5 a side….well, playing small goals requires a completely different player than on a full size field. Modric is not better than Boban at mali nogomet/Futsal so I think you’re wrong. You also put Perisic in front of one of our all time best dribblers (Prosinecki)….in a small goals game? Doesn’t make any sense Ante!
Boban
Prosinecki
Brozovic
Kranjcar
Srna
I can’t imagine how anyone wouldn’t pick Prosinecki for the second choice? Once again, this is a 5 a side game (mali nogomet)…the rules of regular soccer are different and also, this game you must have technical abilities and be very quick.
I would assume this is not mali nogomet.
Just a hypothetical (pick a smaller version of your team) game.
There’s no way we would know who would be best in mali nogomet, since I believe Robert Jarni is the only one who even had a mali nogomet career. It would all just be assumptions.
I’ve watched Kutija Sibica for many years….its easy to see who is the boss of the court!
Of course I’m wrong. I’m always wrong and you will point out my “wrong” opinion 100% of the time. But it’s nice to have a fan who loves me so much to point out my wrongfulness all the time.
I read this as best combination of 5 Croatian players with the given values/prices. I don’t think we were supposed to put a real team together that would actually play. I will let CroatiaU14 address that.
PS
Slavonac, you’ve seen Zuti, Modric, Mandzo, Dudu, Suker all play ‘mali nogomet’ in person and your opinion should be regarded as expert, correct?
I’m not an expert, never said I was and never will say I am.
I’ve never seen Modric play but I have seen Dudu, Suker, Boban, Zuti…
You’ve seen the latter all play Mali Nogomet in person in competitive games???
I saw Suker, Žuti and Boban live…I saw Dudu playing on tv and video.
You know it’s extremely popular to play 5 aside in Croatia and it’s been that way forever!!?!?! It’s not odd to see many ex players play in organized pickup games or even tournaments…play for bragging rights of a meal!
You asked me if they played in “competitive games”? Look man, if you’re playing in a game, it’s competitive PERIOD!!! Ask Joe Simunic or Romeo Jozak if there is such a thing of playing a game that isn’t competitive…even if it’s amongst friends and nothing on the line! It’s always a “win at all cost”…trust me!
Modric
Prosinecki
Brozovic
Asanovic
Jarni
This is a fun one based on all the comments we’ve received on FB, Insta, and Twitter so far. So many Croatians are missing the “bargain buy” of this entire $15 squad. It’s unbelievable how this striker is being overlooked.
Modrić is automatic at $5. He’s Croatia’s best player of all time and more importantly, makes all the players around him better. Simple as that.
At the $4 spot, you take Perišić. He’s one of the most underrated wingers of all time. And you know what he does above all? He scores in big games. Just look at his tournament record. It speaks for itself. I passed on Šuker and I passed on Mandzo in the striker category so far. Why?
At $3 you’re going to give me Dudu? I’ll take that all day long! BARGAIN BUY CENTRAL! One of the most technical and gifted strikers to ever put on the checkers. This guy was on an absolute tear in the goal category before his broken leg. Who knows what he could have done at EURO 2012 and WC 2014 if he was healthy. Who knows? He was a true striker and finished opportunities when he had to. That’s why Arsenal picked him up. It’s a shame we never got to see him reach his prime. (Obviously, I’m making this pick based on his top top potential and if he stayed healthy)
At $2 I take Olić. The current squad above is all talent and you need a guy for spirit and non-stop hustle. He will even score the occasional ‘right place, right time’ Ivica Olić goal.
In defense at at $1 you have to go with Jarni. He was world class and was a big part of the 98 squad that took home 3rd place.
How did we not put Šimunić on this list for consideration? I think he deserves a spot in front of R. Kovač…no?
That one’s on me. Let that slip through the cracks.
Modrić, Perišić, Dudu, Olić, Jarni the strongest 5 here.
I agree that Dudu is the best value for dollar here (along with Brozovic) at $3…
But are we assuming this is 2007 prime Dudu?
Or are we looking at these guys’ entire careers?
If that is the case, then Dudu is a $4 player…that suddenly becomes $1 after 2007.
He’s a hard one to rate because of that injury and mediocre career after that injury.
Suker
Boban
Asanovic
Jarni
Simic
I only need $14.
No bilic??Sramota
Only room for 4 defender options. Bilic and Simunic could’ve made it but we have to leave some out unfortunately.